Portland, Ore. ? New Trail Blazers general manager Rich Cho says while he’s impressed with Portland’s youth and depth, the team is still lacking the piece that will bring the city another championship.
Cho, who spent nine seasons as an assistant general manager with the Oklahoma City Thunder, was introduced as the Blazers’ GM on Monday. He replaces Kevin Pritchard, a former Kansas University guard who helped usher the team out of the Jail Blazers era several years ago but was ultimately dismissed last month.
Cho, a Northwest native, said that under his watch the Blazers will be “process oriented and methodical in our approach.”
“Character, teamwork and accountability will be three of our core values,” he said.
The Blazers also considered former Cleveland GM Danny Ferry and former Miami GM Randy Pfund before settling on Cho, 44, who joined the Thunder as an intern when the franchise was based in Seattle.
With a law degree and also a background in engineering, Cho has gained a reputation for his expertise with the salary cap and the collective bargaining agreement. He’s also got scouting experience.
Terms of the contract with Cho were not disclosed.
Pritchard, who had been with the Blazers since 2004, was fired by Allen just hours before the NBA Draft. It was never made clear what exactly precipitated the dismissal.
Pritchard built a promising young team around guard Brandon Roy, who was chosen the league’s rookie of the year before becoming a three-time All-Star. Pritchard was also a staunch supporter of 7-foot center Greg Oden, the top pick in the 2007 draft who has been plagued by injuries.
During Pritchard’s tenure the Blazers also returned to the playoffs after a five-year absence, but they were unable to get past the first round for the past two seasons.
Portland, which won the NBA championship in 1977, went 50-32 last season even though the team was dogged by random injuries to several players.
“Portland’s definitely come a long way, but I think there’s room for improvement,” Cho said.
Cho, who also has worked at Boeing, received his engineering degree from Washington State. He attended law school at Pepperdine.
